After a disastrous 106-loss season last year, the Kansas City Royals rebounded in 2024 to earn a playoff spot and even sweep the Baltimore Orioles in the Wild Card series. It’s a historic comeback for the club, and it demonstrates that the Royals are ready to be in contention as they enter 2025.
Looking back on the 2024 season and how the Royals managed to reverse their fortunes from the previous year, these are the three best front office selections that drove the team’s postseason run.
KC Royals added Lucas Erceg to bolster their flailing bullpen
The Royals bullpen finished the 2024 regular season ranked 20th in MLB with a combined ERA of 4.13, 23rd in WHIP at 1.33, and last in strikeouts with 463 — but one player stood out: closer Lucas Erceg. On July 30, the Royals’ front staff made one of the better trades of the season, acquiring Erceg from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Mason Barnett, Will Klein, and Jared Dickey.
Erceg had a 2.88 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, and 31 strikeouts in 25 innings for the Royals this season. The 29-year-old went on to appear in five of Kansas City’s six postseason games, posting a 3.00 ERA with three saves and contributing significantly to the team’s Wild Card series victory.
Erceg is still under club control until the end of the 2029 season, and he is still awaiting arbitration for another year. The right-hander is owed only $800,000 in 2025, indicating that the Royals not only successfully bolstered their bullpen with a closer for the next five seasons, but they did so at a fraction of the expense of signing a reliever in free agency.
KC Royals acquired Yuli Gurriel as backup plan after Vinnie Pasquantino’s injury
When Vinnie Pasquantino broke his thumb at the end of August and was ruled out for six to eight weeks, the Royals’ front office needed to devise a backup plan quickly. In an 11th-hour move to put a player on their postseason roster, the Royals acquired Yuli Gurriel in a minor-league trade with the Atlanta Braves on August 31 and quickly elevated him to the majors.
Gurriel ended up becoming one of Kansas City’s more productive hitters in the final few weeks of the regular season, batting.241/.338/.296 with 6 RBI in 18 games. Despite Pasquantino’s sudden return from the IL before the Wild Card series, Gurriel appeared in all six Royals playoff games, recording four hits in a batting lineup that was unusually quiet.
Gurriel is unlikely to return to Kansas City in 2025, but the decision to add him to the lineup for the last month of the regular season was a great one. He played a critical role in sending the Royals to the playoffs when the offense was otherwise questionable, and that’s about as good as a last-minute emergency deal gets.
KC Royals prioritized veterans over internal options by trading for Michael Lorenzen
Developing players in the farm system is critical to a team’s long-term success; but, there are instances when a seasoned veteran is required. On July 29, the Royals announced that they had traded fan-favorite prospect Walter Pennington to the Texas Rangers in exchange for 2023 All-Star pitcher Michael Lorenzen. While many fans were disappointed to see Pennington leave the organization after only one appearance in the majors, Lorenzen ultimately helped the Royals more than Pennington could have over the next few months.
Lorenzen went 2-0 in seven regular-season appearances (six starts) with the Royals, with a 1.57 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and 22 strikeouts in 28.2 innings. He kept opposing batters to an average of.183 while adding reinforcements to the starting rotation in the last months of the season. Lorenzen also made two appearances out of the bullpen during the Royals’ playoff campaign, accumulating a 3.86 ERA and three strikeouts.
Without an agreement from the Royals, Lorenzen will be a free agent this offseason. While it is unknown whether Kansas City would offer him a contract for 2025, adding the veteran to the rotation for the final part of 2024 was a wise move to help the team reach the playoffs.
